UCEAP Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

2017 - Jule Osborn, Monteverde Institute, Costa Rica 1991Julie is the co-founder of Ecology Project International, an education non-profit that empowers youth to take an active role in conservation through hands-on field science. The program engages both local and international high school students, who come together to work collaboratively. More than 30,000 students across five countries have participated in EPI’s science and conservation programs. Julie participated in the Tropical Biology & Conservation program at the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica, and graduated from UC Santa Barbara.

2016 - Dr. Randy Schekman, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom 1968-69(Watch Prof. Schekman talk about his time abroad at a UCEAP event on 8/29/15)Nobel laureate Dr. Randy Schekman received this year’s Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award. As an undergraduate at UCLA, Randy participated in the University of Edinburgh program in 1968-69. He credits his year in Edinburgh as a key event in the development of his career aspirations as an academic scholar and teacher. Dr. Schekman has been a professor of molecular and cell biology at Berkeley for 39 years and in 2013 received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

UCEAP is pleased to announce that Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, accepted the 2015 Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award in May. The award salutes the accomplishments of alumni who have demonstrated a record of service and extraordinary achievement in a particular discipline or organization.

Dr. Sullivan spent the 1971-72 academic year at the University of Bergen in Norway while she was a student at UC Santa Cruz. She went on to complete her doctorate in geology at Dalhousie University in Canada. Dr. Sullivan was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978 and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She flew on three shuttle missions during her 15-year tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

An accomplished oceanographer, she was appointed NOAA’s Chief Scientist in 1993, where she oversaw a research and technology portfolio that included fisheries biology, climate change, satellite instrumentation and marine biodiversity. She served for a decade as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation's leading science museums. Later, she was the inaugural Director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.

2014 - Dr. Alice Kaplan, University of Bordeaux, France 1973-74Dr. Alice Kaplan, the John M. Musser Professor of French at Yale University, is the recipient of the 2014 Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Kaplan is a professor of Romance Studies, Literature, and History and the Chair of the Department of French at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. While an undergraduate studying French at University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Kaplan participated in the 1973-74 UCEAP Bordeaux, France program. She completed her 1981 Ph.D. at Yale and her current research interests include World War II and post-war France, literature and law, biography/autobiography and French cultural studies. Alice Kaplan became a professor of French and an expert on the literature of French fascism. Dr. Kaplan was astonished and delighted to be the recipient of the first Duttenhaver award. "This past fall I celebrated the 40th reunion of my study abroad year in Bordeaux with a small group of friends from the UC program. It was an experience that sealed our friendship, enriched all of our lives, and continues to inform our thinking and our eye on the world." - Alice Kaplan

UCEAP Emerging Leader Award Recipients

2017 - Jeremy Hessler, Queen Mary, University of London, 2005-06Jeremy is a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the United States in environmental law cases that involve endangered species and other wildlife. He also counsels federal agencies on how to best comply with environmental statutes in carrying out their missions. Jeremy studied at the Queen Mary, University of London in the United Kingdom, and graduated from UC Riverside.

2016 - Alicia Sabuncuoglu, Paris Center for Critical Studies, France 2005-06After returning to UCSD, Alicia gave back to the program by working with the campus office on student outreach and other activities. Currently, Alicia oversees Strategic Partnerships at Google. In her spare time, she has dedicated herself to the Google Art Project, a stunning global cultural experience online that brings the world's richest institutions and rarest collections into an open digital ecosystem. “My UCEAP experience abroad permeates nearly every facet of my life, and I would be proudly honored to express my thanks to the organization and help continue alumni efforts and the current program today.” Alicia was a recipient of the UCEAP Dan Wise Scholarship, a scholarship funded by Linda Duttenhaver, for year long participation in a UCEAP program. Alicia was honored to be introduced and receive this award from Linda at our annual conference!

2015 - Jessica Price Petrilli, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain 2004-05After graduating, Jessica joined Teach for America in 2006, where she began teaching English at Richmond High School in Richmond, CA. She has been a passionate urban school educator for the past 9 years. She continued teaching at the same school for 6 years. During her last year of teaching, she attended UC Berkeley’s Principals Leadership Institute, where she earned a master’s degree in education and her administrative credential. The next year Ms. Petrilli became an administrator at the neighboring Helms Middle School, and now, in her third year at that school, she is ending her first year as principal. Jessica says of her work, “Teaching and leading in a high need school like Richmond High and Helms Middle School is my passion. I believe that education is the key to freedom, so I take the responsibility to provide an excellent education for our students very seriously. As a first generation college student myself, I live and breathe the belief that through education you are free to discover who you are and what potential is waiting to be fulfilled. I am committed to staying in public education, and will continue serving the communities of Richmond and San Pablo through my work as a school leader.”

2014 - Josue Lopez Calderon, Thammasat University, Thailand, 2010Josue Lopez Calderon is the 2014 recipient of the UCEAP Emerging Leader Award. Josue graduated from UCLA in 2010 with a B. A. in International Development Studies. He studied abroad with UCEAP at Thammasat University, Thailand in 2010 where a blog of his experiences attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of State. Upon returning from Thaliland, Josue has pursued a career in Washington D.C. and is currently a U.S. Department of State Gilman International Scholar, focusing on a proposal on how to implement financial and technological growth and innovation in the Latino community by using Asia's educational model for science and technology. Currently, Josue works for the U.S. Treasury Department, as a Business Development Specialist. Josue published an article earlier this year for The Huffington Post in English and Spanish to raise awareness about the need for diverse candidates and the scholarships and fellowships available for study and intern abroad programs.

Why Give to UCEAP?

As a leading provider of study abroad and exchange for over 50 years, UCEAP has helped thousands of students benefit from international education.

Scholarship support for studying abroad is critical to our mission to equip students with the knowledge, understanding, and skills for work and life in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world.

Funding for scholarships makes study abroad available and affordable to a larger number of students each year.